Two Step
by Castle Haven
Summary: Stories in the Castle universe told in exactly two sentences. All prompts welcome.
1. Chapter 1: Wait

_Wait_

"Wait up," she says as she jogs to his side, swollen ankles slowing down her usual pace. "I'm not used to being the last one through the door yet."

xxx

A/N: This is going to be a series of unrelated one shots told in exactly two lines. Prompts (in one word/two words) are most welcome. I will try to incorporate them all :)


	2. Chapter 2- Sleep

_Sleep_

_Prompt by cranbs_

He always sleeps to her left. She wonders if it's because he believes it is closer to her heart, or closer to the scar that could so easily have been his.

Xxx

A/n: I'm still accepting prompts. Leave them below in the reviews or PM me. Also most of these will be Caskett. I may change it up though.


	3. Chapter 3 : Book tour

_Book tour_

_Prompt by anon_

The hardcover book won't rest heavy on the pillow beside her anymore. His book tour is finally over.

Xxx

A/n: Updates will be everyday :) Just a reminder that all prompts must be one or two words only.


	4. Chapter 4: Coffee

_Coffee_

_Prompt by Raquel_

"Waiter! There's a fly in my coffee," the brunette complains, putting down the legal handbook she's been reading. Richard Rodgers hurries to her table, hoping his charm can heal caffeine deprivation, because he can't afford to lose this job.

xxx

A/n: Belated happy birthday, Raquel


	5. Chapter 5: Proud

_Proud_

_Prompt by lb_

She had to shoot an eighteen year old boy in the line of duty today. On the sleepless night that follows, she downs a glass of scotch, and hopes her mother is still proud.


	6. Chapter 6: Tree

_Tree_

_Prompt by poorva_

"You're going to want to sit down for this, Castle Junior," she instructs as she lays the scrap book down on the table. "Your father's family tree is a little bit more complicated than mine."


	7. Chapter 7: Sunday

_Sunday_

She fights him for the last bite, watching him gape as she licks the ice cream off the corner of her lips. She'll have to get used to the creepy staring because 'Sundaes on Sundays' is becoming her favourite Castle tradition.


	8. Chapter 8: Positive

_Positive_

_Prompt by fan of it all_

When the paramedics ask him her blood type, he's still in shock, bent over her fallen form, clutching her hand desperately. "O positive," he manages to answer just before the ambulance doors slam shut, and all that remains is the pool of blood staining the green grass at his feet.


	9. Chapter 9: Tabloids

_Tabloid_

_Prompt by KaticDeschanel_

_Hope this is what you wanted. _

The tabloids can print whatever they want. She knows Castle comes home to her every night and reads out aloud to her stomach.


	10. Chapter 10: Always

_Always _

_Prompt by Sissysi01_

_Set around end season 4_

She sways her hips a little more tonight, throwing herself fiercely at strategically chosen strangers. She's afraid that the distant echo of an always will drag her out of this night club and into Castle's arms before the song's over.


	11. Chapter 11: Beach

_Beach_

_Prompt by wendykw_

The cool sand beneath her feet, and the rhythmic whoosh of the waves is calming her down. She's glad Castle wouldn't let her leave Los Angeles without a moonlit walk on the beach.


	12. Chapter 12: Snow

_Snow_

_Prompt by anon_

Stella's snowman is the most special one in the neighbourhood- he has a name, an identity, and a backstory full of twists and turns and heroes and villains. Being the daughter of a best selling mystery writer sure does come with its perks.


	13. Chapter 13: Boredom

_Boredom_

_Prompt by cranbs_

She introduced him to the punching bag at the gym to save him the boredom of paperwork. Turns out it was a really bad decision- she keeps sneaking in to watch him (and his biceps), and no one's getting any paperwork done.


	14. Chapter 14: Losing control

_Losing control_

_Prompt by mobazan27_

She hates losing control, cursing every time the wooden floor dizzies beneath her hesitant footsteps. Back at the hospital, she could blame it on the drugs but in the maddening silence of her father's cabin, she's forced to confront the fact that she may never be her old self again.


	15. Chapter 15: Almost There

_Almost There_

_Prompt by Benvolio_

"We're almost there," she says nervously, guiding her blindfolded fiancé up to the rooftop. Even with his eyes closed, he trusts her enough to know that it's going to be the perfect venue for their wedding.

Xxx

A/n: I'm still taking prompts! Leave them in the reviews or PM me


	16. Chapter 16: Please

_Please_

_Prompt by anon. (At least I think it was a prompt)_

Castle seems to have a knack for crossing the thin line between being chivalrous and being patronising. And when he does, nothing- not even a beseeching Pleeeeease- is going to stop her from making him stay in the car.


	17. Chapter 17: Pancakes

_Pancakes_

_Prompt by Stacy Rodgers_

Alexis brings them breakfast in bed on a Sunday morning, and Kate knows Rick didn't put her up to this because he looks genuinely surprised. She realises it's all a bribe to convince her dad to buy her a car, but after those delicious pancakes (with extra maple syrup) followed by the chocolate waffles, Kate is tempted to gift Alexis her own car.


	18. Chapter 18: Indelible

_Indelible_

_Prompt by prdnanny_

When all hope of his return has faded, she takes the last draft of Raging Heat to his publisher. The story always matters; and she wants theirs to live on in indelible ink.


	19. Chapter 19: Review

_Review_

_Prompt by _

"There are zero loopholes in these bylaws- employees can't date," he declares resignedly, shutting the NYPD's employee handbook. "We should really get Gates on our side before the next policy review," he tries to humour her, painfully aware that she's going to have to lie to the people she loves, just to keep her job.


	20. Chapter 20: He's Gone

_He's gone_

_Prompt by Sissysi01_

Ever since he's been gone, I think I like the darkness better; the dark erases sound and smell and sight and emotion. And one night, it'll be dark enough to erase the memories of the day he disappeared.


	21. Chapter 21: Crave

_Crave_

_Prompt by prdnanny_

Kate Beckett craved a life of solitude, taking to empty sidewalks and nondescript spaces, little nooks that offered the comfort of coffee and a book. Little did she know, that in her search for solitude, she would meet a writer who was not at all what she was looking for, and yet everything that she truly needed.


	22. Chapter 22: French

_French_

_Prompt by cranbs_

He vows to teach their way-in-the-future kids French every time he watches _Les Misérables_. "French is too mainstream," she tells him each time, smiling inwardly; if all goes according to her plan their kids are going to speak Russian _wayyyy_ better than French.


	23. Chapter 23: Detective

_Detective_

"Really? Your favourite fictional detective growing up was Hercule Poirot?" He asks, horrified; she nods innocently. "So you get to be Daphne for Halloween and I get to be an old bald guy with a moustache and a cane?" he whines, cursing himself for coming up with this idea as she turns away to hide her grin.


	24. Chapter 24: Forever

_Forever_

_Prompt by Guestrn and Guest1215_

'You cannot be guaranteed a forever in this profession so don't expect one'- that's what she was taught as a rookie at the Academy. She found it easy to accept it then, when her life was falling to pieces; now she dreads the knot in her stomach every time she promises him an Always.


	25. Chapter 25: Flutter

_Flutter_

_Prompt by Benvolio_

The ringing phones sounded louder than tolling church bells to her ears as giant butterflies fluttered in her stomach, heart thumping to the beat of a soldier's boot. "You cannot screw this up," Beckett ordered herself, steeling her nerves, and turned to face her first crisis as Captain of the Twelfth Precinct.


	26. Chapter 26: Cat

_Cat_

_Prompt by Alyssa86inli_

Ryan arrived at the crime scene late with dark circles under his eyes and long red scars running down his arms. "Jenny calls 'it' Mr Whiskers; I think hellcat is a better name," he explained but his voice was lost over the raucous laughter of his team members.


	27. Chapter 27: Full Circle

_Full circle_

_Prompt by petuniatc_

Even though it's gruesome, he thinks it's befitting that they've ended what they began here in style and in sync. They've come full circle- their last arrest together is a murder at the New York Public Library, only this time he gets to be on the other side of the cuffs.


	28. Chapter 28: Giggle

_Giggle_

_Prompt by Stacy Rodgers_

It was a lazy, uneventful night at the Hamptons when he discovered she was ticklish. He had heard her rich, deep laughter before; been witness to her mocking chuckle; but none of it compared to Kate Beckett giggling like a schoolgirl.


	29. Chapter 29: Made Bed

_Made Bed_

Prompt by Mobazan27

She dragged the length of the wedding dress along the hallway as she ran into the bedroom. In her hurry to get changed and get back to the search, she almost missed the rose petals on the neatly made bed, and the card on the nightstand which said, "Congratulations, Mrs. Castle" in his neat print.


	30. Chapter 30: The end

_The end_

_Prompt by petuniatc_

He knows now that it's the end of his time in this strange new universe, and he spends his dying breaths telling her he loves her, trying to engrave every little thing about her in his memory. She's begging him to stay, and it makes him want home even more because he knows he could never live here – not in a world where Kate Beckett does not smell like cherries.

xxx

A/n: So AU Beckett had to undergo some sort of perfume upgradation when she became Captain, no? :p Thankyou everybody for all the support so far!


	31. Chapter 31: Once

_Once_

_Prompt by Thre3_

"Once you've survived a tiger, a trip to the bottom of the Hudson, and a night in a freezer, you want your retirement home to be simple and quiet, Castle," she explains, peeking at the Ipad over his shoulder. "Oh no no no Beckett, I'm not letting you veto the Dracula mansion."

Xxx

Fun fact: They filmed both Dracula and the Rocky Horror movie at the same Gothic mansion that Castle has his heart set on ;)


	32. Chapter 32: Ice bucket

_Ice Bucket_

_Prompt by Sissysi01_

'How on Earth is that shirt appropriate for the workplace?' Castle mumbles to himself, struggling to keep his eyes up. When he receives the death glare that could make hell freeze over, he knows it's time for the ice bucket.


	33. Chapter 33: Frustrated

_Frustrated_

_Prompt by prdnanny_

It's been five years since the shooting but their case brings back old ghosts that she thought she had conquered. Castle knows it makes her frustrated, knows he can't do much except pray that someday she'll be able to remember the day without reliving it.


	34. Chapter 34: Birthday

_Birthday_

_Prompt by Caskettwriter41319_

As self-proclaimed gift whisperer, it was his job to buy the present for Gates' 50th birthday party. Glancing nervously at her doll replica decked in bubble wrap, he hoped a creepy toy could redeem him in the eyes of his girlfriend's boss.


	35. Chapter 35: Fear

_Fear_

_Prompt by Thre3_

There's fear in the way her eyes widen, her palms sweat and her breath sinks with every tired step towards the warehouse. Even with a fully armed SWAT team standing by, she can't help but think Jerry Tyson has one last trick left up his sleeve.


	36. Chapter 36: Blanket

_Blanket_

_Prompt by Alyssa86inMN_

"Beckett, I need more soup!" Castle complains, disappearing beneath his blanket when Alexis stops to check in. Beckett gave him the flu and he's going to guilt her into giving him soup for as long as he can.


	37. Chapter 37: Animated

_Animated_

_Prompt by Thre3_

Castle gestured animatedly, all the while kicking the air with his left foot as Beckett ventured guess after unsuccessful guess, laughing hysterically at his antics. The usually in-sync partners were falling apart at charades, and yet having the best time of their lives.


	38. Chapter 38: The End

_The end_

_Prompt by petuniatc_

At the end of the run, when the church bells toll, Jerry Tyson pleads innocence. It was never his fault; it was his mother's


	39. Chapter 39: Abyss

_Abyss_

She's on the edge, watching helplessly as he free falls into this horrid abyss with no rock bottom, no hope of resurfacing. "I think I like writer's block better," he says, his voice quivering as he wipes away her tears; she likes writer's block better too- she knows how to fix it.

Xxx

_A/n: Too vague? Lemme know. I'm still accepting prompts. This one is just a short departure because of an idea that really wouldn't let go of me. _


	40. Chapter 40: Angel

_Angel_

_Prompt by Benvolio_

There's a devilish gleam in her angel eyes tonight as she zips up her leather jacket. It's her first rock concert, and as rebel code demands- it must be a secret from her unsuspecting parents.


	41. Chapter 41: Psychic Connection

_Psychic connection_

_Prompt by Genelle_

_Kind of a post ep for 7x17- Hong Kong Hustle_

"You know Beckett, there's one thing that Zhang definitely doesn't have," he says, thoroughly enjoying the ensuing frenzy of kisses she plants on his neck. "A psychic connection with her partner in crime slash partner in life."


	42. Chapter 42: Hickey

_Hickey_

_Prompt by prdnanny_

What an arrogant young man, what a blasted imbecile, to think the scar from her bullet wound was a hickey, and to actually laugh about it during dinner like it was some kind of a joke! Castle balls his fists in fury for weeks afterwards, as he watches her wear one turtle neck after the other, a fearless spirit made self-conscious.


	43. Chapter 43: Silence

_Silence_

_Prompt by cranbs_

She thought it would be the pitiful stares of her co-workers at the precinct- the ones reserved for every girl whose fiancée deserts her at the altar- that would finally break her. She never made it that far; the still silence of the loft hurt her more than the stares ever could.


End file.
